The marker of the English “Group Genitive” is a special clitic, not an inflection
-
Stephen R. Anderson
Abstract
The English possessive construction (and its relatives in related languages), which is the focus of the present volume, has been of interest for some time – at least since the work of traditional grammarians like Jespersen (1942). Several distinct analyses have become more or less standard in different theoretical communities, with the logic of the differences among them not always made clear in theory-neutral terms. I will argue below for one of these, essentially the picture presented in Anderson (2005), but the issues involved are of wider interest than the specific study of this one construction. I believe that the correct analysis of the English possessive indicates something much more general about a range of grammatical categories.
Abstract
The English possessive construction (and its relatives in related languages), which is the focus of the present volume, has been of interest for some time – at least since the work of traditional grammarians like Jespersen (1942). Several distinct analyses have become more or less standard in different theoretical communities, with the logic of the differences among them not always made clear in theory-neutral terms. I will argue below for one of these, essentially the picture presented in Anderson (2005), but the issues involved are of wider interest than the specific study of this one construction. I believe that the correct analysis of the English possessive indicates something much more general about a range of grammatical categories.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
- Dealing with postmodified possessors in early English 1
- Variation in the form and function of the possessive morpheme in Late Middle and Early Modern English 35
- The great regression 59
- Nominal categories and the expression of possession 89
- Expression of possession in English 123
- A cognitive analysis of John’s hat 149
- The oblique genitive in English 177
- The marker of the English “Group Genitive” is a special clitic, not an inflection 193
- Two prenominal possessors in West Flemish 219
- A Mozart sonata and the Palme murder 253
- Possessive clitics and ezafe in Urdu 291
- References 323
- Index 339
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
- Dealing with postmodified possessors in early English 1
- Variation in the form and function of the possessive morpheme in Late Middle and Early Modern English 35
- The great regression 59
- Nominal categories and the expression of possession 89
- Expression of possession in English 123
- A cognitive analysis of John’s hat 149
- The oblique genitive in English 177
- The marker of the English “Group Genitive” is a special clitic, not an inflection 193
- Two prenominal possessors in West Flemish 219
- A Mozart sonata and the Palme murder 253
- Possessive clitics and ezafe in Urdu 291
- References 323
- Index 339
